Khloé Kardashian's Good American opens fourth brick-and-mortar location

GOOD AMERICAN, the digitally native denim brand founded in 2016 by Khloé Kardashian and Emma Grede, has opened its fourth Good American branded brick-and-mortar location at Lenox Square in Atlanta.

Its first physical store opened in 2023 at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles. Stores at The Forum Shops in Las Vegas and Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Calif. followed.

Good American brands itself as size-inclusive because the store carries women’s sizes from 00 to 32 plus. It started selling denim jeans online but it now also carries other apparel and swimwear lines. Besides selling from its branded boutiques, Good American apparel is also available at Amazon, Anthropologie, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, ThredUp and Walmart.

Read more: Kardashian-founded denim brand Good American opens first eastern US store (Austin Business Journal)

Is Rite Aid pursuing another Chapter 11 filing?

Things looked pretty stable for RITE AID after emerging from an October 2023 bankruptcy that lowered its store count from 2,000 to 1,300. Until it didn’t. And Rite Aid is just one of the top three chains in the troubled drugstore industry facing an existential crisis.

Recent reports indicate that Rite Aid is pursuing a sale of some or all of its business as a potential alternative to another chapter 11 filing, after the previous bankruptcy restructuring failed to put the drugstore chain on a sustainable path.

Unfortunately, the entire drugstore industry is ailing and no prescription is available to alleviate symptoms of financial distress.

CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and many independent drugstores are also closing thousands of stores due to factors like increased competition from Amazon, Walmart and Costco Wholesale, declining profits from lower reimbursement rates for prescription drugs, and a steep sales decline from overpriced front-end merchandise.

Read more: Rite Aid Weighs Repeat Bankruptcy Filing (The Wall Street Journal)

Retailers should try reducing litigation by settling claims early

Retailers face a triple whammy when dealing with insurance-related claims:

1. The number of claims resulting in litigation has risen between 20% and 40% over the past decade.

2. The cost of the losses suffered by claimants are up between 130% and 160%.

3. The average time to resolve a case that goes to litigation has reached 400 days.

This is according to Luke Harrison, managing director and U.S. national practice leader for claims consulting at Marsh & McLennan Companies Services B.V., who spoke at the recent National Retail Federation Retail Law Summit.

Harrison suggested that retailers should try reducing litigation propensity by settling claims early rather than waiting for the matter to be settled in court. This advice should be considered by property managers as well, not only retailers.

Retailers should seek to reduce the number of claims open at any given time to reduce reserves that must be set aside to cover them, Harrison said. They should also develop a strategy to reduce the amount spent defending claims, including avoiding costly litigation when possible.

Read more: Attorney says retailers should settle more claims before they turn into lawsuits (National Retail Federation)

Harry & David is opening brick-and-mortar locations again

Harry and David Stores closed 38 stores during the pandemic, which was all its locations at the time, except for its flagship in Medford, Oregon and took its retail business online. However, that hasn't gone well.

The gourmet food brand opened six pop-ups during the holiday season inside Macy’s stores in New York City and Los Angeles, and is again ramping up its physical retail presence as standalone shops.

The holiday pilot “got the juices flowing” for Harry & David to focus more on brick-and-mortar retail, according to Greg Sarley, Harry & David’s SVP of merchandise revenue.

The result is a new Harry & David brick-and-mortar store, which just opened on Long Island. The new store has a tasting area and event space for demonstrations to enhance the experiential retail experience. That new store and the Macy’s pop-ups were recent “learning opportunities for us to dip our toe back in the water,” Sarley told Modern Retail.

Research is proving Harry & David right about reopening stores. Recent data show that most consumers would rather shop for food products in-store than online, according to Kassi Socha, senior director analyst at Gartner. A 2023 consumer survey by Gartner found that 78% of respondents prefer to buy food and nonalcoholic beverages in person, compared to 5% online using their desktop computers and 12% online using their mobile phones.

Harry & David is owned by 1-800-Flowers.com, which also owns other brands that are planned to be carried at Harry & David stores.

The goal is to further expand retail concepts heading into this year's holiday season, according to Sarley. Long term, he said, “My vision would have us have a brick-and-mortar location where we have a high concentration of (online) customers: the bigger cities on the coasts, as well as in the Midwest.”

Read more: Harry & David is making a return to physical retail after closing nearly all of its stores during Covid (Modern Retail)

Dutch Bros Coffee plans to double number of locations by 2029

Dutch Bros Coffee has raised its target number of locations from 4,000 to 7,000.

The coffee chain currently operates more than 1,000 locations in 18 states but says it plans to reach more than 2,000 units within four years, essentially doubling its current store count before the end of this decade.

Dutch Bros is currently the third-largest coffee chain in the U.S. by unit count. Starbucks has around 18,500 U.S. locations and Dunkin'​ has about 10,000.

Dutch Bros also has a deal to bring Dutch Bros packaged coffee and related products to grocery shelves for the first time, which will increase brand awareness, according to CEO Christine B.

The company had previously announced a plan to open at least 160 new stores in 2025, but will likely increase those plans. It hired former Yum! Brands executive Brian Cahoe, who was responsible for growing KFC in the U.S. He assumed his new responsibilities as chief development officer, responsible for overseeing the Dutch Bros new store growth and development strategy.

Read more: Dutch Bros thinks it can open a lot more shops than previously expected (Restaurant Business)

Store closures are increasing retail space availability by 12.5 million sq. ft. in 2025

Retailer closures have caused retail space availability to increase by approximately 12.5 million sq. ft. since the start of 2025, according to a recent analysis by CoStar Group.

Since the start of 2024, announced closures total more than 10,000 stores, with chains like Big Lots, JOANN Stores and Party City, each closing hundreds of locations.

Planned closures are not limited to the chains going out of business. Macy's Inc. announced in February that 66 stores will permanently close in 2025.

Separately, JCPenney announced it is closing eight stores by mid-2025 as part of ongoing restructuring efforts following its 2020 bankruptcy filing. Those are:

- California: The Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno
- Colorado: The Shops At Northfield in Denver
- Idaho: Pine Ridge Mall in Pocatello
- Kansas: West Ridge Mall in Topeka
- Maryland: Westfield Annapolis Mall in Annapolis
- North Carolina: Asheville Mall in Asheville
- New Hampshire: Fox Run Mall in Newington
- West Virginia: Charleston Town Center in Charleston

Of the 143 U.S. markets within the CoStar national retail index, available retail space increased in 79 over the past year, while 64 saw a decline in retail space availability over the same time frame.

In almost half of major U.S. retail markets, retail space availability increased, but in some markets, such as Tampa, Nashville, and Orlando, availability actually decreased, as retail space availability is still tight across the U.S from a historical perspective.

Read more: Available retail space increases for first time in two years (Chain Store Age)

Walmart plans to open or remodel 45 fuel stations across the U.S. in 2025

Walmart plans to open or remodel 45 fuel stations across the U.S. in 2025, many of which are part of a c-store operation.

Fuel stations is nothing new to Walmart. it added fuel to its extensive offerings in 2002, and by December 2024, Walmart hit a milestone when it opened its 400th fuel center in Palm Springs, Calif. Upcoming new locations include Tahlequah, Okla., Laredo, Texas, and other cities across the U.S.

According to Dave DeSerio, VP of fuel and convenience for Walmart U.S., these c-stores with fuel service is another example of how Walmart is responding to its customer and member needs.

“Member” refers to the Walmart+ membership program, where members save even more at the pump, with a 10-cent discount per gallon as part of Walmart+ member perks. Unlike other c-stores, there is also everyday low prices on snacks, beverages and other items at Walmart’s Fuel and Convenience stations.

After opening these new planned locations, the big-box mass merchandiser will operate more than 450 Walmart fuel centers across 34 states, making Walmart one of the 20th largest c-store operators in the country competing with the likes of 7-Eleven, Alimentation Couche-Tard (Circle K) and Casey's General Stores.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer runs over 4,600 Walmart locations in the U.S. and nearly 5,600 more internationally. There are also 600 Sam’s Clubs across the U.S.

Read more: Is Walmart the next major c-store competitor? (Retail Dive)

Academy Sports + Outdoors plans to open 20-25 new stores in 2025

Academy Sports + Outdoors has surpassed 300 stores after opening in York, Pa., Harrisburg, Pa. and Hagerstown, Md. These 2025 openings mark Academy's first locations in Pennsylvania and Maryland, increasing the retailer's footprint to 21 states.

In addition, Academy opened a new store in Kansas City, Mo. in March, and will open another new location in Charlotte, N.C. in April 2025.

The company plans to open a total of 20-25 new stores in its 2025 fiscal year. In 2024, Academy opened a total of 16 new locations across 10 states, including its first in Ohio.

Read more: Academy hits 300 stores; expands into two East Coast states (Chain Store Age)

The Paper Store expands new concept "Uncharted" with second store.

TPS Group Holdings, which operates The Paper Store and other retail concepts around the world continues to expand its new concept store branded as Uncharted. The second store opens this Saturday, March 29, 2025 in Greenvale, N.Y. The new store fills a 10,782-sq.-ft. corner location on Long Island’s Green Cove Plaza.

The first Uncharted store opened last November at The Shops at Oak Brook Place in Chicagoland, and Tom Anderson, president and CEO of The Paper Store is pleased with the results. In fact, the Oak Brook store has become the highest performing store in TPS Group Holdings' portfolio of brands. Six additional Uncharted stores are slated to open throughout Illinois this year as part of the company’s $60 million investment in new and existing stores over the next four years.

Uncharted carries home decor, beauty, toys and clothing brands including BIRKENSTOCK, Free People and Kendra Scott. For photos of the new store, follow link to article.

The Paper Store currently operates 100 stores.

Read more: Uncharted, sister to The Paper Store, unveils first Long Island location (Long Island News)

PGA Tour Superstore opened second store in Michigan; seven more to open in U.S. in 2025

PGA TOUR Superstore, founded by Arthur M. Blank, who is still chairman of AMB Sport & Entertainment, has 75 locations in the U.S., and will open seven more in 2025, according to a prepared statement by Jill Spiegel, president.

Most of the locations are in the Southeast and the West Coast in 27 states, but by the end of the year, it will have a presence in 30 states when the company adds new stores in Connecticut, Kentucky and Missouri. The PGA Tour Superstore has already began the buildout for a new store in St. Louis County, its first store in Missouri. The goal is to grow more in the central part of the country, according to Spiegel. PGA Tour Superstore locations average 35,000 square feet.

The newest store opened in greater Grand Rapids, Mich. It features a wide range of golf equipment and apparel, an 896-square-foot indoor putting green, and offers lessons from certified professionals and an in-house club repair and custom club-making facility for repairs, regripping, adjustments and custom fittings. It has two Studio-brand bays for golf instructions and club fitting, four practice bays and four simulator bays for customers to play virtual rounds and test equipment.

Read more: PGA Tour Superstore, ‘A Disneyland for Golfers,’ Continues Rollout (Women’s Wear Daily)

Ocean State Job Lot is acquiring 15 Big Lots leases in eight different states

Ocean State Job Lot is the latest chain to scoop up former Big Lots leases from Gordon Brothers, acquiring 15 stores in eight different states: Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

The Rhode Island-based discount chain already has 159 locations in the Northeast, and the expansion will add two new states to its presence: Delaware and Maryland. The Big Lots stores are expected to be renovated, rebranded and reopened as Ocean State’s Job Lot by mid-summer 2025.

OSJL said in a statement that these converted stores range in size from 27,188 square feet to 43,021 square feet.

Ocean State Job Lot has previously taken over former Christmas Tree Shops and Toys"R"Us stores to turn them into new locations.

With those 15 Big Lots leases and its previously planned organic expansion, Ocean State Job Lot plans to open 22 new stores in 2025.

Read more: Ocean State Job Lot acquires 15 former Big Lots locations (WPRI)

Five Below plans to open at least 150 stores in 2025

With consumers trading down and seeking discounts, Five Below is on a tear. In FY2025, Five Below plans to open at least 150 stores, and the chain is already one third of the way there.

According to comments from Five Below CFO Kristy Chipman, CPA, MBA during an earnings call yesterday, at least 50 of those stores are set to be operational by the end of the first fiscal quarter.

This is in addition to 22 Five Below stores that opened at the end of the fourth quarter, contributing to its total of 227 new locations in fiscal 2024. Five Below’s fiscal year ended on February 1, 2025.

The current store count is approximately 1,807 across 45 states. The new locations would put Five Below just under 2,000 locations.

Read more: Iconic discount chain that’s ‘cheaper than Dollar Tree’ to open up 150 new locations in 2025 – and 50 are coming in days (The U.S. Sun)

Publix Super Markets continues expanding but within the same eight states where it operates stores.

Publix Super Markets continues its expansion plans in 2025 at the same pace as 2024 when it opened 43 stores. All 1,400 Publix stores are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

In 2025, Publix is aiming to expand in the same eight states where it currently has stores, according to an interview that Publix vice president of real estate strategy and operations Bridgid O’Connor did with ICSC's C+CT .

Publix has seven prototype store layouts but the standard store size is about 50,000 square feet. Recently Publix opened large-format (55,000-square-foot) stores in Tampa and in Kentucky. The large-format prototype serves beer and wine and has expanded deli offerings.

Publix continues to look for new locations with the understanding that market dynamics vary, so O'Connor likes to encourage landlords to bring them development opportunities before assuming the potential location is not the right fit.

Sites can be submitted by regular mail to Publix headquarters in Lakeland, Fla., but they must be in writing and directed to one of 10 Publix real estate managers responsible for the territory in which a location is to be submitted.

If you plan to submit a site for consideration, include location (quadrant, intersection, city, county, state), proof of control of the site, zoning, trade area map showing site, competition, existing Publix stores and distance from site to other grocery stores and the demographics of the trade area (1, 2 and 3 mile radius).

Real estate managers responsible for their respective territories are Sarah Johnston, MBA, Julianne Polston, Dalton Locke, Mike Leahy, David Parry, CCIM, Jon Adams, Austin Stone, Jordan Konieczki, Eva Gullett, CCIM and Mike Gordon.

Publix is not a publicly traded company. It's privately owned by the founder's family and past and present employees.

Read more: Publix’s Bridgid O’Connor Discusses Store Strategy (ICSC C+CT)

Princess Polly expands nationally with seven new stores

a.k.a. Brands is expanding the digitally native Princess Polly chain mostly in A+ malls with seven new stores to open in 2025, according to Eirin Bryett, co-founder and co-CEO of Princess Polly. This brings the total number of stores to 13.

New openings:

1. New York City (SoHo)
2. Dadeland Mall (Miami-Dade)
3. Glendale Galleria (Glendale, Calif.)
4. Easton Town Center (near Columbus, Ohio)
5. The Westchester (White Plains, N.Y.)
6. Roosevelt Field (Long Island, N.Y.)
7. King of Prussia Mall (near Philadelphia)

The stores in Columbus, Glendale, Miami, and New York City will open in the first half of the year, with the remaining stores opening in the back half.

The majority of the new Princess Polly stores will be between 4,000 and 5,000 square feet but the SoHo flagship store will be about 8,000 square feet on two levels.

The first Princess Polly store opened in 2023 at Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles, and the chain already operates six stores, all selling trendy apparel aimed at Gen Zers who monitor Tik-Tok celebrities.

Read more: Princess Polly Grows U.S. Store Fleet with Seven New Openings in 2025 (Business Wire)

DICK'S Sporting Goods bucks trend to open large-format stores

I would say today, smaller is better than bigger when it comes to store size. Just ask Macy's, Burlington Stores, Inc., Kohl's, IKEA, Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods Market, even CVS Pharmacy. All are rolling out smaller locations to reduce real-estate costs, carry mostly fast turning merchandise and increase their sales per-square-foot productivity.

But, there's one exception. DICK'S Sporting Goods continues to open large-format House of Sport locations, which average between 120,000 and 140,000 square feet, many of which have to be carved out of former department store buildings.

DICK’S needs that much space to house a variety of amenities, including rock-climbing walls, golf simulators, outdoor running tracks and lots of merchandise. These stores generate about $35 million in their first year of operation (including e-commerce sales attributable to the store), compared with $14 million at DICK’S new smaller locations.

And if you are a landlord with a vacant big box, you might be asking about required tenant allowance. These large-format stores cost about $15.5 million more to build than DICK’S smaller stores.

DICK’S has already opened 19 House of Sport locations since the first one in 2021. According to DICK’S Executive Chairman Ed Stack, whose father, an avid fisherman named Dick Stack, founded the sporting-goods chain in Binghamton, N.Y., 77 years ago, DICK’S plans to add dozens more House of Sport locations over the next 10 years, with House of Sport stores eventually comprising more than a quarter of the company’s total fleet. DICK’s currently operates 856 stores in various concepts including DICK’S, Field House, House of Sport, Golf Galaxy and Going Going Gone!

Read more: Inside a Dick’s Sporting Goods Megastore, Complete With an Ice Rink and Climbing Wall (The Wall Street Journal)

Retail entrepreneur women to be featured in docuseries

Are you aware about the trailblazing women who helped change the face of retail in the 20th century and even before? These include Lord + Taylor’s Dorothy Shaver, Bonwit Teller & Co.'s Hortense Odlum and Henri Bendel’s Geraldine Stutz.

In the 1930s, Hortense Odlum began her career in marketing her husband's store and ended up running Bonwit Teller. During World War II, Dorothy Shaver promoted American over Parisian designers and her success led her to earn $1 million in salary at Lord & Taylor. And in the 1960s, Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel re-invented the look of the modern department store.

All of this is in a book published last year. It is titled “When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion," written by Julie Satow. Now, that book has just landed on best-seller lists from The New York Times and USA Today, and the story is getting traction.

But not everyone reads books, so Macy's has acquired the exclusive rights to develop a scripted TV series based on the book to raise the profile of these women. Macy’s CMO Sharon Otterman spearheaded the deal.

In this adaptation, Macy’s is looking to spotlight the often unsung role women played in shaping department stores. Macy’s Margaret Getchell, third cousin to Rowland Hussey Macy, the department store's founder, was one of the first women in retail to hold an executive role in the 19th century. As such, Getchell will be added to the screen adaptation of the documentary series, which is likely to be available for streaming by one of the streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video or HBO MAX TV, when the project is completed. That deal has not been finalized, but I'll look forward to streaming it.

“These are stories of resilience, ambition and creativity — women who understood the power of storytelling and branding long before it was a business strategy,” Otterman said in a press release.

Read more: Macy’s to Develop TV Series on Women in Retail (Women’s Wear Daily)

Forever 21 lying on its deathbed underscores that in retail, nothing is forever.

It's sad to see Forever 21 finally lying on its deathbed, an ironic ending that underscores that in retail, nothing is forever.

As vacancies are still low at A-plus mall properties, Forever 21 closures will be a good thing for those landlords, which will quickly replace those vacancies with more productive retailers at higher rents. However, in bankruptcy cases, the court tries to sell those leases, and that would be bad for any landlord. RCS Real Estate Advisors has already began to market about 360 store leases in the U.S.

Fast fashion is a segment where strong players such as Zara are doing well but others like Forever 21 can’t seem to turn out a profit.

Some international online competitors like SHEIN and Temu have been detrimental to Forever 21 and other fast fashion retailers because they sell fast fashion directly to American consumers bypassing tariffs through the "de minimis" tariff loophole that allows these online sellers to import single items without tariffs while Forever 21 and other retailers that import the merchandise in bulk from China have to pay tariffs.

Another problem that is inherent with Forever 21 is the very large footprint of most of its leased premises, which ranges from 4,000 to 150,000 sq. ft. The average Forever 21 store is 21,000 sq. ft. Because of its size, the chain hasn’t managed to perform adequately on a sales-per-square-foot basis to pay for its occupancy costs. Today, retailers are shrinking their footprints to achieve greater sales and minimize occupancy costs, all on a per-square-foot basis.

Read more: Mall mainstay Forever 21 slated to close all 350 stores in second bankruptcy (CoStar News)

Mexican fast-casual Qdoba and Chipotle Mexican Grill continue rapid expansion

Qdoba Restaurant Corporation, America's No. 2 restaurant brand in the Mexican fast-casual category after Chipotle Mexican Grill, has built a pipeline of more than 500 restaurants to be opened in the future through franchise commitments throughout most areas of the country, according to Jeremy Vitaro, Chief Development Officer at QDOBA.

But even with those commitments, QDOBA continues to seek experienced multi-unit franchisees to develop key markets, including Atlanta, Orlando, Nashville and Tampa, while also expanding in non-traditional venues such as airports, universities, military bases, and casinos.

As the fast casual Mexican food chain continues to expand, total sales sales have increased accordingly but because of brand recognition, so have same store sales. QDOBA achieved a 6.1% comp sales growth in fiscal year 2023, followed by 7.7% comp sales growth in fiscal year 2024. Chipotle’s comp sales increased by 7.4% in 2024, signifying that the fast casual Mexican food category dominated by both restaurant chains continue to perform well.

QDOBA now operates approximately 800 locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. However, in the fast casual Mexican category, QDOBA is dwarfed by Chipotle, which has grown through company-owned stores rather than through franchising as is the case with QDOBA.

There are over 3,700 Chipotle restaurants as of December 31, 2024, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates. Chipotle is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe.

Chipotle added more than 300 new restaurants in 2024 and plans to add another 315 to 345 new company-owned restaurant openings in 2025 with over 80% having drive-thru access.

Read more: QDOBA Celebrates Remarkable Franchise Growth with 500+ Development Commitments (PRNewswire QDOBA)

Ross Stores plans to open 90 new stores in 2025

Ross Stores, Inc. plans to open 90 new stores in fiscal year 2025; about 80 stores under the Ross Dress for Less banner and 10 dd’s Discounts locations.

According to Richard Lietz, EVP, property development at Ross Stores,
the company expanded Ross's presence in the newer markets of Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York, while dd’s growth primarily focused on existing markets in California, Georgia and Texas.

Ross now operates 2,205 Ross Dress for Less and dd’s Discounts locations across 44 states, the District of Columbia and Guam. Ross's long-term goal for brick-and-mortar locations is about 3,600 locations, so they have 1,400 more stores to open in the coming years.

Read more: Ross Plans 90 New Stores This Year; Long-Term Goal is 3,600 Locations (Retail Touchpoints)

"Medtail" continues to thrive at neighborhood shopping centers

Medical uses in a retail setting or #Medtail for short is alive and well at your neighborhood shopping center as more medical service providers seek locations at America’s neighborhood centers.

PDS Health is just one of many. According to Chris Aguon, vice president of real estate for PDS Health, which operates more than 300 dental units in California, PDS loves neighborhood grocery-anchored centers because people buy food often and many of the shoppers are women.

“We found that women tend to make most of the healthcare decisions for the house,” he said. “If they notice that the dentist is conveniently located in that same center, they’ll tend to give us a try.”

Are you seeing more or less interest from medical uses?

Read more: Getting a filling — at the mall. Why dentists and other wellness tenants are in big demand (Los Angeles Times)